Chen Yuezhi was startled. Her daughter to enter the palace as the Crown Princess?
How could that be possible!
Setting aside the fact that once one enters the palace, it's like a deep sea, the Crown Prince already had two women by his side. They were arranged by Wang Hongye when they were in Jiangnan before.
She hadn't thought much of it before. After all, it was normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Moreover, the Han family had already made it clear that they would likely be the rulers of the court in the future. As the legitimate son of the Han family, how could he live his life with only one woman?
She had thought all of this was quite normal and reasonable before. But now that it involved her own daughter, it was absolutely unacceptable.
The Jiang family had no precedent of taking concubines, and no man in the family had ever had such thoughts. She had also never considered bringing women into her son's household. Therefore, she had implicitly assumed that Jiang Wan's future husband would not take concubines.
That was why she had chosen Cheng Sinian for Jiang Wan. She believed that Madam Cheng would not bring anyone into Cheng Sinian's household and trusted Cheng Sinian's character.
Returning to the matter of entering the palace, although she had been a farmer's wife and had not seen much of the world, she knew that the more prominent the family, the more corruption there was within.
Several women fighting over one man, all sorts of schemes, hidden daggers, impossible to guard against.
After she officially began practicing medicine, she saw even more. Many of her patients were wealthy and noble. The irreversible damage to their bodies was mostly from struggles in their inner courtyards.
If the inner courtyard of an ordinary wealthy family was like this, how much more so the imperial harem, which involved the interests of various parties.
Her daughter should live a free and happy, simple life. They, as a family, had never thought about status or glory, let alone relying on their daughter to obtain them.
But now, how could she refuse the Empress's proposal?
The Empress had first asked for her opinion out of their personal friendship. Otherwise, if the Emperor directly issued an imperial decree, what could the Jiang family do?
But she dared not agree.
In her haste, Chen Yuezhi said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that Wanwan is betrothed?"
Empress Wang smiled and said, "Are you referring to the engagement with Prince Gu back then? But wasn't that a temporary measure?"
Chen Yuezhi said, "But that girl Wanwan took it seriously, and she even accepted Prince Gu's betrothal token. To be honest with Your Majesty, Wanwan has come of age, and the marriage should be put on the agenda. So I was already looking for suitable candidates for her. Who knew that as soon as I mentioned it to that girl, she immediately got angry and said that she was engaged to Prince Gu and how could she be a perfidious person."
Empress Wang smiled and waved her hand, "But His Majesty said that Prince Gu himself said that the engagement was not to be taken seriously."
"You don't know, His Majesty truly likes that girl Wanwan. He has said to me more than once that the girl is capable of great things and possesses great skills. If she were to enter the palace, she would surely be able to manage Qing'er's inner court perfectly."
Chen Yuezhi sighed, "But she insists on taking it seriously. You know that girl's temperament. Once she decides on something, even ten oxen can't pull her back. Your Majesty, thank you and His Majesty for your favor, but Wanwan is mischievous and has been wild in the countryside since childhood. She doesn't have the demeanor of a proper young lady at all. If she enters the palace, I'm afraid she will cause a lot of trouble."
"The Crown Prince will inherit the throne in the future. The selection of the Crown Princess should be from the daughters of noble families, who are virtuous, talented, and possess all the qualities of a good wife and mother. Only then can she be qualified to be the Crown Princess and manage everything for the Crown Prince, allowing him to serve His Majesty wholeheartedly without any distractions."
Empress Wang said, "I understand what you're saying, but His Majesty and I both feel that no one else is as suitable as Wanwan to be Qing'er's principal wife. They grew up together and have deep affection. Although Wanwan is different from ordinary young ladies, her skills are unmatched by others."
"Sister Yuezhi, I understand your concerns, but I promise you, after Wanwan enters the palace, I will never let her suffer any grievances. I will dote on her like my own daughter."
"Sister Yuezhi, in fact, letting Wanwan enter the palace is more of His Majesty's intention. I don't want His Majesty to issue an imperial decree and force you to send Wanwan in, thus damaging our relationship. That's why I'm telling you in advance."
Chen Yuezhi sighed, "Hongye, I'll be frank with you, I don't want Wanwan to enter the palace. You know Wanwan's nature. If she enters the palace, she will go mad from being confined. I am truly grateful that you and His Majesty think so highly of Wanwan, but I don't want Wanwan's life to be confined within these palace walls."
"Hongye, Wanwan is not suitable to be the Crown Princess. You know her nature, and she has no romantic feelings for the Crown Prince. Forcing them together will only create a pair of resentful lovers. And that's not the worst of it. You know Wanwan has seen bloodshed. If she truly enters the palace and has irreconcilable conflicts with other women in the future, I'm afraid she won't hold back... Hongye, please persuade His Majesty. There are many suitable girls in the capital to be the Crown Princess, any one of them is more suitable than Wanwan."
Wang Hongye patted her hand, "Sister Yuezhi, I understand. I will persuade His Majesty. However, I may not be able to persuade him. If you truly don't want her to enter the palace, you must finalize Wanwan's marriage before the imperial decree is issued. You must hurry."
Only then did Chen Yuezhi understand that Wang Hongye's true intention in summoning her to the palace was to remind her to quickly finalize Jiang Wan's marriage.
Wang Hongye and Jiang Wan had known each other for over ten years, so she naturally understood the Jiang family's intentions. She also genuinely liked Jiang Wan, so she was reluctant to let Jiang Wan enter the palace.
This imperial palace, ah, is not as beautiful as people outside the palace walls imagine.
She had only been Empress for a short time, and she already found it tasteless. How could she bear to let a girl like Jiang Wan waste her life here?
However, she had to do what her husband had instructed. After much thought, she decided to take this opportunity to subtly inform Chen Yuezhi, urging her to hurry and finalize Jiang Wan's marriage.
"Sister Yuezhi, Prince Gu is a good candidate. He has been by His Majesty's side for several years and has a personal connection. Moreover, he and Wanwan are already betrothed. As long as Prince Gu acknowledges this marriage, all troubles will be resolved."
Chen Yuezhi pursed her lips, "I will go back and discuss it with Wanwan's father."
Empress Wang nodded, "Hurry up, there's no time to delay."
Chen Yuezhi did not stay in the palace for long and quickly took her leave.
After returning home, Chen Yuezhi couldn't help but feel a surge of panic.
She summoned the maidservant beside her and instructed, "Quick, go and call the Duke. I have something important to discuss with him."
Jiang Pan rushed over, "What happened?"
Chen Yuezhi sent all the servants out, closed the door, and then recounted what Empress Wang had said to Jiang Pan.
Jiang Pan immediately jumped up, "What are we waiting for? I'll go to the Gu family right now and ask that young man!"